Energy Efficiency Crucial for Industry - FAO

GERMANY - FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department recently met with leading companies in the seafood industry to improve information exchange and dialogue between the UN agency and the private sector.

The focus of the meeting (12 February 2008) during a roundtable forum in Bremen, Germany was to assess the state of information on energy use in the fisheries sector throughout various stages of the value chain and learn what efforts are in play to improve the industrys efficiency in light of growing concerns over carbon emissions and global warming.

In April FAO will be convening an expert meeting to look at a wider range of issues related to climate change and fisheries.

The outcomes of that meeting as well as the Bremen roundtable will feed into a high level conference on climate change and food security to be held at the Organization's Rome headquarters in June this year. Additionally, the outcomes of the industry forum will be reported on during the upcoming session of FAO's COFI Sub-committee on Fisheries, also to be held in Bremen (2-6 June 2008).

Taking the pulse of industry

This was the second FAO-industry forum, convened at the invitation of the Senate of the Free Hanseatic State of Bremen.

The previous meeting in 2006 focused on the growing profile of aquaculture in the global supply chain.

Holding the event during Bremen's annual Fish International trade fair allowed FAO to meet with a wide range of industry representatives from various sub-sectors and geographic regions.

"FAO has a mandate to engage with governments, civil society, and the private sector," said Grimur Valdimarsson, Director of FAO's Fish Products and Industry Division.

"These forums were set up several years ago by our Sub-Committee on Fish Trade as a way for us to better take the pulse of what is happening in the industry, gather information from the private sector, and hear their views on the issues affecting fishing and the seafood business today."